Days 4&5

It's been a great couple of days for our team here in Haiti. We woke up very early on Sunday to make a 2 mile hike up to Jean Claude's mountain church. The hike was arduous to say the least. We needed lots of breaks just to catch our breath and drink plenty of water. We were greeted at the top by the gracious congregation. We worshipped with them and Jim even stood up and presented a heartfelt greeting in creole. After service the people thanked us with a Haitian meal and freshly cracked coconuts.  We spent the rest of the day resting out sore muscles and enjoying time with Jean Claude and his wonderful family. 

Today we started the day with the children at the EBAC Orphanage as they sang for us some of their favorite songs. Their voices are amazing. We could have sat there all day and listened to them sing. We spent the rest of the morning tutoring the children and finishing our painting project we started on Friday.  We ended the afternoon with a homemade dinner from the missionaries at EBAC, Kathy and Alice. They have some of the most amazing stories. 

It's been a great couple of days. We plan to spend the day doing some work projects at the New Vision Children's Home tomorrow. Now to google, "how to make a book shelf." 

Day 2&3

Exhausted is not a word that I use very often. Very few times in life can I say that I gave so much that I am completely wiped. Our team is exhausted....in such a good way. There is something so satisfying when all that you have is given freely to those in need. And this country and these people are in desperate need. 

On Friday our team arrived at the EBAC Orphanage in the morning for tutoring. Some of us were teaching kids long division with percentages, and others were teaching kids appropriate punctuation while writing paragraphs in English. These kids are so passionate about their education. They feel so fortunate to be learning something new. We ended the day playing with the small children at IDADEE and getting eaten alive by the national bird....the mosquito. 

Today we started a painting project for the girls at the EBAC Orphanage. The living quarters for these kids are not ideal, so we were excited to give them all a freshen up! We scraped off old paint from walls and ceilings and put on a fresh coat of paint to brighten up the rooms. I wish you could have seen the faces of the young ones when they would come up to check on our progress. They were excited about the improvements. We ended the day with a surprise visit to Jean-Claude and Monica's. They are the family we spent a lot of time with last year fixing up their new home. The kids were ecstatic to see us. We plan on going to the "mountain" church with them in the morning. 

That's all we've got for now. Our hearts are full. 

Day 1

Just wanted to give you all an update! We are pleased to tell you we made it safely to Haiti. Going through customs is always an adventure, and we never really know what to expect, but we made it through leaving behind only one soccer ball and $100 in "fees" so they say. Once through the airport we met up with our drivers Jovnelle and Caleb, and our interpreter Ricardo.  It's funny, every year we are very adamant that you NEVER, under any circumstances let anyone touch your luggage. And every year, someone caves and luggage gets carried by the men looking for "jobs". This year it was no different. I always take bets on who will be the first one. It wasn't clear this year, everyone pointed to someone else, so I guess we will never know.  

Once we got our rooms and got settled at the Joshua House, we made our way down to visit with the 30+ children at the IDADEE Orphanage. The kids were all getting ready for a Thursday evening church service. The kids ran out and claimed us and took us to their church. We sang songs and the kids even performed a few beautiful songs that made us melt....it might have been the heat too. 

It was a great first day. Everyone is healthy and excited about our new day today. We hope to send along another update again soon. 

Greetings from Miami!

Well, we made it safe to Miami. It was a fairly uneventful day of travel...except for the last minute gate change before we took off! We just finished up a fantastic team dinner where we discussed our expectations for our big day tomorrow. We fly to Haiti at 10:05 am! Keep us in your prayers. We are expecting God to do some big things this week!

We Leave March 25th!!!

Our next group will be heading down on March 25th. Check back here to see what we are a part of while in Haiti! 

Thanks! 

Good Friday!

We made it through another day here in the incredible country of Haiti.  We woke up bright and early to the sound crowing roosters and one obnoxiously loud cow. After breakfast we gathered our things to spend the day again at Jean Claude and Monica’s house doing various work projects. Jean Claude grew up in Haiti as an orphan and was so touched by the care he was given that he decided he would dedicate his life to helping other children. He and his wife Monica have since taken in thirteen children. They have recently been working on a home to take care of their rather large family. During our time there, we continued our work projects of painting, tiling, grouting and playing with the children.

After our long exhausting day, we came back for a special birthday dinner for Rob and Jim who were both celebrating another year of life today! We ended this Good Friday with some group time of sharing and we ended with communion.

Thanks so much for your prayers! Tomorrow we hope to finish our projects at Jean Claude and Monica’s and then spend some quality time with the children of the IDADEE.

We Made It!

Greetings from beautiful Haiti! Our team finally made it…even though it took us a few attempts to arrive. We had some minor plane issues on our way down that delayed us half a day. Once we arrived, we settled in at the Joshua House perched high on a picturesque mountain with a killer view.  We spent the afternoon playing with the orphans at the IDADEE Orphanage and winding down from our stressful day.

Today we spent majority of the day working on the house for the family of Jean Claude and Monica. The work included painting, varnishing doors, laying tile, and even grouting. The interesting part was figuring out how to get so much work done with little to no tools. Let’s just say our team had to get really creative!

We ended the day meeting the kids at the EBAC orphanage and having dinner with two of the most amazing missionary women to grace this amazing country.  Kathy and Alice shared unbelievable stories that would captivate any audience. The time was precious.

We will do our best to continue to update this blog. We have little to no internet or cell phone service…so, don’t be worried if you don’t hear from us everyday. Keep praying for us. The heat and sun can be draining… but we are having a blast!